| March 5, 2013 | News for travel agents |
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| Business and Industry Watch |  |  |
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| Trends and Technology | |  |
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- China, Brazil are edging out older inbound travel markets
Market share for inbound travel to the U.S. is gradually shifting toward emerging markets such as China and Brazil, whose consumers are also spending more than travelers from traditional markets, says Julie Heizer of the Office of Travel & Tourism Industries. "The average Chinese traveler will spend $6,000 on a trip to the U.S., as opposed to about $4,000 from mature market travelers and much less from neighboring Mexico and Canada," Heizer said. TravelMarketReport.com
(3/4)      
- Airlines unveil new ancillary fees
Airlines continue to find new services to charge ancillary fees. The world's largest airlines raked in $36 billion last year based on these fees, and the extra charges are not stopping any time soon. United recently unveiled a priority boarding fee that also lets fliers whiz through security, while Southwest charges fliers to stream movies on devices. "Everyone in the industry is starting to dabble with fees," said Amy Lee, senior analyst at Travelnerd.com. "Even the budget carriers are getting into the game." Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model)/Money & Co. blog
(3/3)
| Travel Weekly Spotlight | | |
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- Best practices: An e-book series on travel commerce sites
Travel Weekly is now presenting an e-book series on best practices in travel e-commerce, which offers tips on optimizing homepages, search tactics and booking processes to increase online sales and improve ROI. Read the books and sign up for a free webinar at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, March 6, co-hosted by Kate Rice of Travel Weekly and Jared Polidoro of the e-books' publisher, Maxymiser.
| Home-Based Agent Update | | |
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| Consumer Travel News | | |
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- Gdansk, Poland, carries weight of history
A city rich in history unfolds for tourists who venture into the streets of Gdansk, Poland, this feature says. The city was leveled during World War II as a German-occupied area, but was reconstructed into the postcard-worthy destination that we see today. San Francisco Chronicle
(3/2)
| Regulatory and Legislative | | |
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- TSA hiring freeze, overtime cuts will lengthen wait times
The Transportation Security Administration said Friday it would enact a hiring freeze and lower overtime spending as a result of federal spending cuts. The move would likely create longer security wait times at airports. "With TSA staffing levels decreasing over time, we expect that during busy travel periods wait times exceeding 30 to 40 minutes could double at nearly all of the largest airports," TSA said in a statement. USA Today/Today in the Sky blog
(3/1)
| Best Practices | | |
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- Column: How to make e-mail work before it's even opened
Properly designed "from" lines and subject lines in e-mail marketing material can ensure the success of an e-mail campaign even if the e-mail remains unopened in the recipient's inbox, says Ron Cates, a director at Constant Contact. "Good from lines and attention-getting subject lines tell them everything they need to know," Cates said. TravelMarketReport.com
(3/4)
| Small-Business Strategies | | |
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- 3 ways to boost employee retention without giving out raises
Even if you can't offer your employees higher salaries, you can encourage them to stay by giving them the flexibility needed to excel, communicating your business' purpose and giving them some control over their work, according to Daniel Pink. In fact, for some employees, those actions provide more workplace satisfaction than money, Pink says. Business Insider
(2/27)
| ASTA Spotlight | | |
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Supplier webinars from NACTA
If you want to hear about the latest offerings from top cruise lines and tour operators, check out the National Association of Career Travel Agents' extensive calendar of events. Open to all agents, webinars will give you a competitive edge.
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ASTA Green Program
ASTA is a strong supporter of sustainable travel and works to educate our members on sustainable travel. The ASTA Green Program is an education and self-assessment program for travel agents and travel suppliers. The core of the program is the Green Guide. Those travel agent and supplier members who purchase the Green Guide can go a step further and become ASTA Green Members. To become a Green Member, they must read the guide, complete the self-assessment, sign-off on our Green Code of Ethics, and complete the application. The Green Guides are available in the ASTA Store.
| SmartQuote | | |
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Scottish-born American inventor
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| | Recent ASTA SmartBrief Issues:
- Monday, March 04, 2013
- Friday, March 01, 2013
- Thursday, February 28, 2013
- Wednesday, February 27, 2013
- Tuesday, February 26, 2013
| | | Lead Editor: Katie Parks
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